When water is on, people are gathering some in spare buckets for use later. The water (when available) is brownish and is making members of one quoted family sick. Many people say either lack of washing or the water itself is causing illness.

What is the cause of this suffering?

It isn’t until the tenth paragraph that you see any discussion of the cause for this human tragedy. Low oil prices, a long-term decline in economic production which has no identified cause, and a drought are the only reasons mentioned.

Way down in the 26th and 27th paragraphs there is deeper discussion of the cause. First is the government’s claim of the elites waging economic war against the country and the US government trying to destabilize the leaders. Then there is a weak counterargument that many years of “economic mismanagement”, too much reliance on oil, and price controls are more likely the cause.

No hint anywhere in the article that the socialist government has nationalization most of the economy. (That means political hacks run companies instead of people who understand how to run the operations.)

No mention of the government-imposed, harshly disruptive price controls. (To illustrate the problem, how much inventory would you sell if you buy an item for $5.00, are required to sell it at $3.00, and after incurring a loss you still have to pay your staff, and thus have to heavily subsidize every item you sell out of your own pocket? How long could you stay in business?)

No mention of the stringent government-imposed currency controls. (Which means that soda and beer producers cannot get raw material.)

No linkage of the lack of electricity with the nationalized power company failing to investing any money in either maintaining capacity or building new electric generating ability.

No mention in the article anywhere of socialism itself having anything to do with the widespread and growing human misery.

This is what the lack of economic and political freedom looks like.

On this Memorial Day I am so grateful for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that the United States (and much of the world) may have political, economic, and religious freedom.